Central Catholic's Carson Barrett shares wealth, earns J&C Small School Player of the Year

Carson Barrett poses for a photo, Friday, May 3, 2019 at Central Catholic High School in Lafayette. Barrett is the Journal & Courier Small School boys basketball Player of the Year(Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

LAFAYETTE — The unselfish play dates back to elementary school.

Dave Barrett would watch his son ingratiate players who otherwise wouldn't have opportunities to score.

Carson Barrett would make sure they got the ball in position to put the ball in the basket.

That trait remains as prevalent as ever and is what sets Barrett apart from many other high school basketball players.

"He would dominate a game for a little bit at the elementary level and they would be winning big and his buddies who weren’t really basketball players that would get in the game, he would always make sure they got an opportunity to score," Central Catholic coach Dave Barrett recalled. "He is always looking out for his teammates and wanting them to do well and I think it started at the sixth grade level."

All those assists piled up and this year Barrett averaged 7.9 per game. He was 61 assists shy of averaging a triple-double for the season and is the Journal & Courier Small School boys basketball Player of the Year.

Carson Barrett, though, remembers his elementary school days differently than his father.

"In elementary, I was a short little fat kid," he said. "I knew the game of basketball and I could play hard, but I wasn’t the most gifted athlete. I was slow and couldn’t shoot very well."

So he would pass to teammates out of full-court presses and see them rack up points.

That passing ability got better while playing AAU basketball with the Indiana Ice, where he benefited from having outstanding outside shooters like McCutcheon's Rowen Farrell and Lafayette Jeff's Avery Beaver.

At times, Barrett has shown the ability to take games over offensively.

But he sees the floor so well that he'll often pass up a good shot because someone else has a better shot.

"A lot of guys you see play, their first thought is to score," Dave Barrett said. "His is, if I am open, I am scoring. First sign of trouble, I know where the open guy is and I am going to get it to him. A lot of guys don’t play that way."

It has proven to pay off in terms of Central Catholic's team success.

That is ultimately the stat Carson Barrett cares about most.

Not his nine triple-doubles or nearly averaging a triple-double.

It's that CC has won 60 games in his three years of high school basketball.

"I want to win. That’s my goal," Carson Barrett said. "I don’t want to be known as a guy who shoots 20 shots a game and only shoots 40 percent from the field.

"I want to be known as a guy that has fun and plays with everybody and gets everyone involved."

Not only was he considered the area's best passer, he also was among the best defensive rebounders, an attribute that leads to many easy assists when he launches the ball to a leaking CC player for a long outlet and uncontested layup.

His 6-foot-5 body and long arms also allows him to alter shots and he averaged 1.2 blocks in addition to his offensive production and rebounding stats.

"To me, I think he is more valuable than a guy who throws in 25 points," Dave Barrett said. "He does a little bit of everything for us on both ends of the court. He controls the defensive glass and I don’t have to worry about it.

"He is off and running as soon as he gets it in his hands. It amazes me when you look at the numbers for the season and it is almost a triple-double."

Sam King covers high school sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.